YouSaid · the spoken record

Ghebreyesus

lines on the record: 37
first: 2013-04-25
most recent: 2023-11-10
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Of course, many say that the two-State solution is good for Palestine, but I strongly believe that it is also a very good and important solution for Israel. During that visit in 2014, I said to my Israeli counterparts at the time, “Please do it for your own sake”: the two-State solution, a lasting solution. I am very glad that, while addressing this acute situation, the Security Council is also underlining the long- term solution. So, with that, I again thank the Council so much for inviting me. I am glad to be back in the Chamber, where I have been many times before. The last thing, which I said earlier, is please make Security Council reform central and a real commitment, to be honest.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“Mr. Ghebreyesus: As I said earlier, nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza. Imagine that you are trapped in that situation — just imagine. That is why we are asking for a ceasefire. We are asking for unfettered humanitarian access. At the same time, of course, we are also asking the Security Council to do everything it can to ensure the release of the hostages. The second thing that I would like to mention, because many members raised the issue, is the two-State solution. I visited Israel in 2014 when I was Foreign Minister of Ethiopia. One thing that I underlined then was that the situation in Gaza is unsustainable. It is dangerous and Israel should provide a solution. That is the two-State solution.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“I felt nostalgic, by the way, when I entered the room because I used to come here when I was Minister for Foreign Affairs. It has long been my view that the Council no longer serves the purpose for which it was established. I reiterate that with all due respect. It represents the realpolitik of the Second World War, not the twenty-first century. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I was part of a group working on reform of the Council. I am dismayed that no progress has been made. To remain credible, relevant and a force for peace in our world, member States — especially the P5 — must take seriously the need to reform the Council. I make one final call for today for a ceasefire and a path towards peace.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“I also understand what the parents of Gaza are going through, because in 1998, when war returned to Ethiopia, my country, my children had to hide in a bunker to shelter from the bombardment. I have experienced war both as a child and as a parent. I know how the children are feeling, and I know how the parents are feeling too. The children and parents of Gaza and Israel want and need the same thing that my family wanted and needed — peace and security. By the way, I never imagined that I would be the Director- General of the World Health Organization, because my mother’s prayer was to survive just one day — one day. Maybe I am lucky. That is what the Security Council was established to achieve — peace and security. But this crisis underlines once again the need for reform of the Council.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“And we continue to call for a ceasefire to prevent further deaths of civilians and further damage to Gaza’s hospitals and health facilities. I understand what the children of Gaza must be going through because, as a child, I went through the same thing. The sound of gunfire and shells whistling through the air, the smell of smoke after a strike and tracer bullets in the night sky; the fear, the pain and the loss — those things have stayed with me throughout my life. I know the smell and the image of war. I know what war means. When my mother heard gunfire at night, she would make us sleep under the bed, adding extra mattresses on top of one bed, in the hope that we might be protected if a shell fell on our house — a mother’s instinct to save her kids.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“I thank Egypt for its support in getting aid into Gaza and for establishing a medical evacuation pathway to get the most critically sick and wounded patients out, including 12 children with cancer, who are being transferred for treatment in Egypt and Jordan. WHO continues to call for unfettered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilians of Gaza, who are not responsible for this violence but are suffering in ways that we in this Chamber cannot imagine. We continue to call on Hamas to release the hostages it took, many of whom need urgent medical attention. We continue to call on Israel to restore the supply of electricity, water and especially, fuel. We continue to call on both sides to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“Supporting Gaza’s health workers is at the heart of WHO’s operational response plan. WHO was part of the first convoy of aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing on 21 October. Since then, we have delivered 63 metric tons of specialist medical equipment and supplies that health workers need to save lives, including to hospitals north of Wadi Gaza. But that does not even begin to address the scale of needs — it is too small. Before 7 October, an average of 500 trucks a day were crossing into Gaza with essential supplies. Since 21 October, just 650 trucks have entered instead of the expected 10,000. A month ago, just two days after the violence started, I met with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt, who agreed to support WHO and our partners to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“More than 100 of our United Nations colleagues have been killed — and counting. As we speak, there are reports of firing outside the Al Shifa and Rantisi Hospitals. Half of the Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals and two thirds of its primary health-care centres are not functioning at all. Those that are functioning are operating way beyond their capacities. The health system is on its knees and yet, somehow, it is continuing to deliver some life-saving care. The best way to support those health workers and the people they serve is by giving them the tools they need to deliver that care, namely, medicines, medical equipment and fuel for hospital generators. Field hospitals and emergency medical teams can complement and support existing hospitals and health workers in Gaza, but they cannot replace them.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“There are 9,000 patients on cancer therapy and 350,000 patients with diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. I visited Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza five years ago, in 2018. I toured the dialysis ward and a neonatal intensive care unit and spoke with health workers and patients. Even then, in 2018 in Gaza, conditions were extremely difficult for health workers. Now their work is impossible — and they are directly in the firing line. Since 7 October, WHO has verified more than 250 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to 25 attacks on health care in Israel — on hospitals clinics, patients and ambulances. Last week, WHO documented five attacks on five hospitals in one day. In the past 48 hours alone, four hospitals, representing some 430 beds, have been put out of action.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“One and a half million people have been displaced and are looking for shelter anywhere they can find it, but nowhere and no one is safe. As more and more people move to a smaller and smaller space, overcrowding is increasing the risks of outbreaks of diarrheal and respiratory diseases and skin infections. Of course, WHO is on the ground in Gaza alongside our partners to support health workers, who are physically and mentally exhausted and are doing their best in unimaginable conditions. In addition to caring for the 27,000 people who have been wounded — many of them with life-threatening injuries — they are trying to manage the regular health needs of more than 2 million people. More than 180 women give birth in Gaza every single day.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“I feel their heartache and fear. I also understand the anger, grief and fear of the people of Gaza, who had already suffered through 16 years of blockade and are now enduring the destruction of their families, their homes, their communities and the life they knew. The situation on the ground is impossible to describe: hospital corridors crammed with the injured, the sick and the dying, morgues overflowing, surgery without anaesthesia, tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering in hospitals and families crammed into overcrowded schools, desperate for food and water. More than 10,800 people have now been killed in Gaza, nearly 70 per cent of them women and children. On average, one child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“Mr. Ghebreyesus: I thank the Security Council for this opportunity to brief members on the health situation in Gaza. Let me be clear from the outset that I fully understand the anger, grief and fear of the Israeli people following the horrific, barbaric and unjustifiable attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on Israeli civilians on 7 October. The killing of 1,400 people and injuries to more than 7,200 others is incomprehensible. For the survivors and families of the victims, the mental health consequences will endure for a long time to come. The World Health Organization (WHO) is gravely concerned for the health and well-being of Israeli hostages in Gaza, many of whom are older people, children and persons with urgent medical needs. Two weeks ago, I spoke with families of hostages, and I will meet them in Geneva next week.”
2023-11-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9472 (2023) · source
“In the Syrian Arab Republic, more than 12 million people are in need of health assistance, almost half of them children. And in Yemen, roughly two-thirds of the population — more than 20 million people — is estimated to be in need of health assistance. In every case, the only solution is peace. I repeat — in every case, the only solution is peace. And our world needs peace more than ever. As if the coronavirus disease were not enough, to have a devastating war like this is dangerous for the world.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“These funds were supplemented by additional funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund. However, to sustain the response, we call on donors to fully fund the United Nations emergency appeal. As the Under-Secretary-General said, only 36 per cent has so far been funded. We thank those donors that have already pledged funding to meet the needs of the people in Ukraine. And thirdly, although Ukraine is rightly the focus of the world’s attention, I urge Council members not to lose sight of the many other crises in which people are suffering. In Afghanistan, more than half the population is in need, with widespread malnutrition and a surge in measles, among many other challenges. In Ethiopia, the blockade of 6 million people in Tigray for almost 500 days has created a catastrophic food and health crisis.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“Protecting them from abuse and exploitation of all kinds must be a top priority for hosting Governments and for all international organizations. Today I have three urgent requests. First, we urge the Security Council to work for an immediate ceasefire and a political solution. Prolonged conflict is in nobody’s interests and will only prolong the suffering of the most vulnerable. The life-saving medicine we need right now is peace. Secondly, we urge all donors to support the response to humanitarian needs in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, which are immense and escalating every day. Thanks to donors that front-loaded the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies, we were able to respond immediately, deploying more than $10 million to address immediate health needs.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“Loads ready for Mariupol remain in staging areas and cannot proceed. Access to those and other areas is now critical. To support Ukraine’s health system, the WHO is coordinating the deployment of 20 emergency medical teams, consisting of experts from many countries, to deliver care across a range of disciplines in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, which have been generous in welcoming refugees but are struggling to meet their needs, as my colleagues mentioned earlier. Those needs are immense and include continuity of care for basic illnesses, as well as more complex issues like cancer and renal dialysis, maternal and child health, HIV and tuberculosis, sexual and reproductive health and mental health. Refugees and many of those who remain in Ukraine are already very vulnerable, especially women and girls.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“So far, we have sent about 100 metric tons of medical supplies, including oxygen, insulin, surgical supplies, anaesthetics and blood transfusion kits — enough for 4,500 trauma patients and 450,000 primary health-care patients for one month. Other equipment, including oxygen generators, electrical generators and defibrillators, have also been delivered and we are preparing to send a further 108 metric tons. We have now established supply lines from our warehouse in Lviv to many cities in Ukraine, but access- related challenges remain. We need unfettered access. We have critical supplies ready for United Nations joint convoys to enter difficult areas, but so far we have not been successful. Today, for example, the United Nations convoy to Sumy, which included a WHO truck carrying critical medical supplies, was unable to enter.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“With just one-third of the adult population fully vaccinated, that increases the risk of large numbers of people developing severe disease. Critical shortages of oxygen will have an impact on the ability to treat patients with COVID-19 and many other conditions. At least eight facilities for producing and storing liquid oxygen have now closed. We are seeking ways to access oxygen from neighbouring countries and to deliver it safely to where it is needed. The WHO is on the ground, working with the Ministry of Health and partners to support health workers and the health system to provide care to meet immediate health needs.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“The disruption to services and supplies in Ukraine is posing an extreme risk to people with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV and tuberculosis, which are among the leading causes of mortality in Ukraine. Displacement, poor shelter and overcrowded living conditions caused by the conflict are likely to increase the risk of diseases such as measles, pneumonia and polio. Services for mental health and psychosocial support are urgently needed to help people cope with the effects of the war. There are more than 35,000 mental health patients in Ukrainian psychiatric hospitals and long- term care facilities, which are facing severe shortages of medicines, food, heating, blankets and more. The war is also exacerbating the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Ukraine.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“Mr. Ghebreyesus: I thank you, Sir, for the opportunity to address the Council today. The war in Ukraine is having devastating consequences for the health of Ukraine’s people — consequences that will reverberate for years or decades to come. There is severe disruption to health services and access to basic commodities as a result of the widespread destruction of infrastructure, including health facilities. The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 43 attacks on health care facilities, with 12 people killed and 34 injured, including health workers. In any conflict, attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law. They deprive people of urgently needed care and break already strained health systems.”
2022-03-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8998 (2022) · source
“WHO, UNICEF and partners are doing all they can to save lives and support the health system, but without peace there will be no end to the suffering of the people.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“Thirdly, donors need to not only quickly honour the pledges they made at the high-level event regarding Yemen in April, but also to provide funds for the crisis in a more flexible manner. Ensuring that workers are paid and given incentives to remain at their posts is a critical issue. Those brave professionals need our help so that they can continue to serve their communities. Lastly, we must provide political and financial support for long-term recovery and development. The partnership between the World Bank, UNICEF and WHO on revitalizing the health sector provides a useful model. We need to rebuild the country's health and sanitation systems so that we can prevent and better contain future health risks. We have agreed, with the World Bank, UNICEF and the World Food Programme, to visit Yemen as soon as possible.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“There are no doctors in 49 of the 333 districts. The supply chain is hampered by restrictions on imports and logistics, as well as limited numbers of implementing partners and funding. The ongoing conflict makes the challenge worse, because it is difficult to reach those in need. Consequently, we have four major requests of the Council today. First of all, we call for an expedited political process to bring an immediate end to the conflict - so that people cannot only survive, but thrive. Secondly, in areas of continuing conflict, we must ensure that civilian infrastructure, such as water, sanitation and health facilities, are always protected, in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“Emergency operation centres have been activated in Sana'a and priority governorates. More than 400 tons of critical lifesaving supplies have been delivered, including intravenous fluids and treatment kits, and more than 5 million people have been supported to access safe water. At the same time, there is a shortage of doctors and nurses to help treat and care for those who are ill. Some have fled the country, yet many continue to come to work, even though they have not been paid for more than 10 months. WHO and UNICEF are paying incentives, travel costs, overtime and other allowances whenever they can in order to help to get them through this period, but that is not a sustainable solution. Other challenges include the fact that more than 55 per cent of all health facilities are closed or only partially functional.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“It has affected 21 of the 23 governorates and 286 of the 333 districts. Almost the entire country is affected. The largest number of cases are in Amanat Al Asimah, Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Amran and Ibb - those five governorates make up 55 per cent of the total of 300,000 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other partners are working with Yemeni authorities to detect and track the spread of the disease and reach people with medical treatment, safe water and adequate sanitation and hygiene practices. WHO and UNICEF are supporting more than 600 cholera treatment centres and oral-rehydration therapy sites in the most affected districts across the nation, and we plan to open another 500 centres. In addition, our quick-response teams have been trained and deployed.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“Mr. Ghebreyesus: I am grateful for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the health situation in Yemen, where a cholera outbreak of unprecedented scale continues. The outbreak is being driven by conflict, the collapse of basic public services and malnutrition. Two years of conflict have devastated the lives of ordinary people and left nearly 15 million without access to basic health care. Almost the same number of people do not have regular access to clean water and sanitation. They have no choice but to drink dirty water, thus continuing the cycle of disease. Cholera flourishes in a weakened health system. We are witnessing the second wave of an outbreak that first started in October 2016 and has led to more than 1,700 deaths, as pointed out earlier by Mr. O'Brien, and more than 300,000 suspected cases in recent months.”
2017-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7999 (2017) · source
“It is our earnest hope that the new approach and the new mission in Somalia will help to further strengthen the foundation for sustainable peace in Somalia, which no doubt will require, first of all, ensuring that the security environment continues to improve. Both IGAD and the African Union are ready to continue their full cooperation with the Security Council to ensure that that happens. It is our hope that there will be a similar commitment on the part of both the Security Council and the Secretariat to deepen cooperation with the African Union. When everything is said and done, what is critical in the end is that no support will produce results unless it is based on the priorities set by the Government and unless ownership by the Somali Government is respected.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“But more important was whether Ethiopian forces were deployed in a way that added value in terms of addressing the major threat to the encouraging momentum that has been created in Somalia. Our conclusion was that they were not, but that is in no way related to any diminished commitment on Ethiopia's part to continue being a factor for peace and stability in Somalia. But again, as I said earlier, the question of burden-sharing and the issue related to the effective use of available forces is something to which we attach great importance. These are issues that we would be ready to discuss with stakeholders. We feel that we have come a long way in Somalia. Not keeping up the momentum is not an option.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“Let me before closing refer to one issue that is related to the role of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and to what the technical assessment mission has referred to as their announced withdrawal from Hudur and their anticipated withdrawal from Baidoa. There has been some misperception concerning this matter which requires explanation. The question of lack of consultation or absence of prior notification on the part of Ethiopia is absolutely groundless. Those who need to know were informed many months prior to the withdrawal. There is no misunderstanding here. What happened does not in any way signify any shirking of responsibility on Ethiopia's part, though the question of burden-sharing is something that has always been a source of concern for us.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“In that regard, I wish to highlight paragraph 22 of resolution 2093 (2013), on supporting the Government's efforts to manage and coordinate international assistance, particularly in the security sector. It appears to us that the way to proceed is to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the Somali National Security Forces are up and running, including in terms of providing security for a new United Nations mission and avoiding resort to the use of international private security companies. The proposal by the assessment mission in that regard might need to be examined carefully. All this is an argument for doing more to ensure that the Somali National Security Forces are given all the necessary support to handle security throughout the country. That is also what we ourselves have been trying to contribute in practice.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“We feel that more can be done in that regard, and in our judgment, there is no reason why the two proposed options should not be examined immediately, with a view to speeding up the implementation of one of them. But even more critical is ensuring that everything necessary is done to support the Somali National Security Forces so that they can achieve the capacity to play their proper role in maintaining peace and security throughout the country. In our opinion, that is doable if support is provided by Member States on the basis of an integrated approach and not, as pointed out by the technical assessment mission and reiterated in the report of the Secretary-General, in a fragmented manner.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“It cannot be denied that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) needs greater support, particularly in terms of "additional enablers and force multipliers" (ibid., para. 46). In fact, as the technical assessment mission says in the report, AMISOM, whose support is critical to ensuring the security of the new assistance mission in Somalia, will not, in many instances, be in a position to provide such services within the existing troop ceiling. The Secretary-General reminds the Council in his report of his earlier recommendation with respect to the option of deploying a United Nations or joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation. But he has introduced a caveat by saying that the matter should be taken up "as conventional combat operations against Al-Shabaab end" (ibid).”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“We are also very convinced that the principles underlined by the technical assessment mission as a guide for its work - namely, Somali national ownership, and collaboration and partnership with various actors, particularly the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), inter alia - are indeed critical, and that is also what common sense would counsel. Obviously, in the light of the foregoing, and taking into account both the opportunities, which are immense, and the challenges, it appears that a more serious and stronger effort must be made in order to ensure that the momentum gained in Somalia is not only maintained, but accelerated. That is particularly necessary in the security area.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“The report also underlines the challenges the Federal Government of Somalia is facing, which consist mostly of security issues. In that regard, the assessment manages to reflect the situation on the ground as objectively as possible, for example, when it says that "Somalia is a country in which the international community is seeking to make and build peace in the context of ongoing war and active counter- insurgency operations" (ibid., para. 6). The report also underlines - correctly, in our view - that, although the "struggle against Al-Shabaab has turned a corner... it is far from over" (ibid).”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“The report could not have put it better when, in describing the political environment, it says that it is "extremely complex, but there are also impressive capacities for peace and dialogue" (S/2013/239, annex, para. 5). We fully agree that the "strong political will of the leadership of the Federal Government of Somalia to rebuild their war-torn society bodes well for the peacebuilding and State-building process" (ibia'). The assessment also highlights a critical achievement that had eluded Somalia for more than 20 years when it states quite correctly that the "Government has considerable legitimacy and inspires hope and optimism" (ibid). Indeed, the Government's legitimacy can only be enhanced when it is in a position to provide services to society, thereby strengthening its credibility.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“I also wish to thank the Security Council for having adopted resolution 2093 (2013), which, among other things, requested the Secretary-General to urgently field a technical assessment mission to Somalia with a view to ensuring the effective implementation of the new approach to United Nations support for Somalia set forth in that resolution. I also wish to thank the members of the technical assessment mission for what is, in our judgment, a very useful report. The report has addressed all the relevant issues the mission was called upon to look at. The mission's assessment of the overall political and security environment and of the humanitarian situation in Somalia is both comprehensive and valid.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source
“Mr. President, let me start by thanking you for this opportunity to address the Security Council. As the new Minister for Foreign Affairs of my country, I am delighted - really pleased - to make my maiden statement to the Security Council under the presidency of Rwanda, a country which not long ago came out of a horrendous tragedy, quickly stood on its feet and got to where it is now - a beacon of hope for our Africa. Let me also express appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report (S/2013/239, annex). I would also like to thank the Security Council for having begun a process of very fruitful cooperation with the African Union Peace and Security Council, which we hope will continue to be strengthened; there is, undoubtedly, ample room for doing so.”
2013-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6955 (2013) · source